Spark Creativity, Dance to Math, Read with Astronauts & More
February 2, ,2015 K-12 Newsletter
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IN THIS ISSUE
Grants, Competitions and Other "Winning" Opportunities
Resource Roundup
Powered-Up Professional Development
Mobile Learning Journey
STEM Gems
Worth-the-Surf Websites
Grants, Competitions and Other "Winning" Opportunities
Inspire Students to Reach Higher
First Lady Michelle Obama has announced two new commencement challenges, promoting them in hand with the White House’s Reach Higher initiative. The first challenge targets high schools by calling on seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) starting on January 1. To participate in the FAFSA Challenge, students or educators must submit a five-minute video entry detailing their school’s efforts to motivate students to fill out their FAFSA form. The Near-Peer Mentorship Challenge encourages colleges to open their campuses to high school students who might not consider attending college. The First Lady will send congratulatory videos or speak at the commencement ceremonies of winning schools in the spring.
Deadlines: Near-Peer Mentorship Challenge: February 27, 2015; FAFSA Completion Commencement Video Challenge: March 16, 2015
Click Here for More Information About Reach Higher Initiative
Click Here for More Information About FAFSA Challenge
Click Here for More Information About Near-Peer Mentorship Challenge
Personalize Learning for All Students
Naiku, provider of next-generation classroom assessment software, recently announced the formation of an educational grant program to support innovative teachers and teacher teams in utilizing learner-centric assessment practices in the classroom to differentiate instruction and personalize learning for all students. The grants, valued at $250,000, will be awarded to educators through this spring and next school year. K–12 educators seeking to employ research-proven and learner-centric classroom assessment practices, such as self-assessment, goal setting, student reflection, bidirectional feedback, adaptive learning resources and more, in a standards-based classroom environment are encouraged to apply. The grants include psychometrician-led professional development to provide instruction and guidance on the next-generation assessment practices as well as an annual subscription to Naiku classroom assessment software to facilitate implementation in the classroom. Individual teachers can apply for the Innovative Teacher Grant. Teacher teams can apply for the Teacher Team School Grant; each grant supports an entire school and can be used by one or more teams within the school. Thirty Teacher Team School Grants will be awarded.
Deadlines: Innovative Teacher Grant: monthly on a rolling basis, through 2015; Teacher Team School Grant: rolling through April 30, 2015
Click Here for More Information
Add Much-Needed Oomph to Your Spending
Along with classroom supplies, books and other learning resources, numerous teacher discounts are offered nationwide, running the gamut from laptops and Photoshop to museum entry and insurance benefits. While eligibility changes based on where you purchase, most offers are redeemable by kindergarten teachers and college professors alike. Also remember seasonal promotions, particularly those offered during Teacher Appreciation Week in early May. Merchants without regular promotions often roll out limited-time offers. Gift Card Granny has compiled a list of the 80 most lucrative discounts for teachers. This website features some of the “winning” offers.
Click Here for More Information
Supplement Your Stretched Budget
GetEdFunding is a free website sponsored by CDW•G to help educators and institutions find the funds they need in order to supplement their already stretched budgets. GetEdFunding hosts a collection of thousands of grants and other funding opportunities culled from federal, state, regional and community sources and available to public and private, preK–12 educators, schools and districts, higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations that work with them. GetEdFunding offers customized searches by six criteria, including 43 areas of focus, eight content areas and any of the 21st century themes and skills that support your curriculum. After registering on the site, you can save the grant opportunities of greatest interest and then return to them at any time. This rich resource of funding opportunities is expanded, updated and monitored daily.
Click Here to Visit Website
Resource Roundup
Act in Support of Arts Education
A new series of videos by Americans for the Arts is intended to help you get into the conversation about encouraging creativity and ensuring arts education in your community. These videos convey the stories behind the importance of arts education, as told by children whose lives have been positively impacted by the arts. “Encourage Creativity: Teach the Arts” showcases the voices of young people as they demonstrate the value and benefits they get from the arts in their lives. You can share these free videos with teachers, principals, superintendents, business leaders, community leaders and policymakers. Check out the Encourage Creativity section of Americans for the Arts website for the videos, descriptions and a quiz you can take and share to see how much you and your circles already know about the benefits of arts education.
Click Here to Visit Website
Click Here to Access Free Videos
Click Here to Access Arts Education Quiz
Investigate the Science Behind "Deflategate"
Making science fun is one of the biggest challenges for those who teach STEM, but sometimes the news provides a gift. The most recent offering is the headline called “Deflategate.” Buried in that news report is a STEM lesson often found in a chemistry class on the Ideal Gas Law, which states that pressure and temperature are linked. A short YouTube video, “The Science Behind Deflate Gate,” shows students the simple equations that can be used to demonstrate how pressure and temperature are linked.
Click Here to Access Free STEM Video Lesson
Explore the Legend of Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day comes only once a year, and its arrival is eagerly awaited by thousands of groundhog Phil’s faithful followers. Nowhere in the world is Phil’s prediction more anxiously awaited than in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, “The Home of the Groundhog.” Legend decrees that if Phil sees his shadow on February 2, six more weeks of winter weather will befall the world. If no shadow, we’re in for the delights of an early spring. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club offers suggestions on how to properly celebrate this unique holiday with elementary, middle and high school students. The Groundhog Day website includes lessons and activities for art, English, vocabulary and math. The site also provides ideas for Groundhog Day celebrations as well as games, a suggested reading list and music.
Click Here to Access Free Groundhog Day Activities
Play a Global Guessing Game
Mystery Skype is an educational game that was invented by teachers and is played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by having students ask each other questions. The game is suitable for all age groups and can be used to teach subjects such as geography, history, languages, mathematics and science. Visit the Mystery Skype website and see the game in action. Then sign up to join the Mystery Skype global community.
Click Here to Find a Mystery Skype Class
Powered-Up Professional Development
Encourage Writing in the Classroom
On February 23, 2015, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), the Amazing Resources for Educators community and edWeb.net will host a free webinar entitled “Igniting Digital Writers in the Classroom.” In this webinar, sponsored by Shutterfly, the presenter will explore how to ignite your students’ passion for writing through digital storytelling with the help of Shutterfly’s Photo Story App. The presentation will focus on strategies for storymapping students’ work into a photo storybook that includes text, doodles, pictures and audio. The presenter will also offer easy-to-implement ideas for using Photo Story in nearly any writing assignment to meet Common Core State Standards.
Click Here to Register for Free Webinar
Evaluate and Construct Scientific Arguments
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access invites high school science teachers to a two-session webinar, “Scientific Argumentation: Helping Students Identify, Evaluate and Support Claims,” from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) on February 17 and 23. Dr. Victor Sampson, professor at The University of Texas at Austin, and Michelle Knovic Smith, associate director for digital media at the Smithsonian Institution, will present instructional strategies and resources that help students judge the quality and reliability of evidence, evaluate scientific claims and construct arguments. The webinar is free and open to the public on Google Hangout.
Click Here to Join Free Webinar
Scaffold Levels of Text Complexity
Today’s standards in social studies, science and technical subjects require that students comprehend and analyze complex texts and write arguments or informational papers focused on discipline-specific texts. This one-hour, on-demand web seminar, provided by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), describes strategies piloted among teams of interdisciplinary teachers, grades 6–12, who implemented reading strategies for complex texts, including primary sources, and facilitated students in conducting research to answer a question, citing evidence to make their claims. Participants will glimpse a few activities that motivated teachers to use geoscience texts that moved from simple graphics, such as a representation of fracking fluids, to a highly scientific article on methane contamination. They will also discuss the role of a content specialist (geoscientist) in providing context for the readings, understanding the organizational patterns of writing for science and approaching writing inductively.
Click Here to Download On-Demand Web Seminar
Mobile Learning Journey
Count in Dots and Lines
Students know that 1 + 1 = 2, but do they know that Dot + Line = 6? With Dig-It!’s free MayaNumbers game, students can take their math skills to the next level while learning the ancient Maya’s remarkable number system. This fast-paced counting game challenges players to translate numbers using the Maya math system before time runs out. Students will need to call on the ancient civilization’s revolutionary numeral symbols—shell, dot and line—to translate randomly generated numbers and see how high they can get their score. The app features a tutorial stage that teaches the Maya numerical system in three steps. Dig-It! Games was founded by a professional archaeologist and former middle school teacher.
Click Here to Access Free App
Launch a NASA Spacecraft
Rocket Science 101 is a free iPad app offered by NASA to help students understand how rockets work. The app also helps students understand the differences between the four types of rockets most frequently used by NASA. In Rocket Science 101, students can build all four rockets in a jigsaw-like activity and then virtually launch their rockets. When the rockets are launched, students see the timing of each stage of the launch, from surface to orbit. After playing with the four types of rockets, students can try their skill at matching rockets to real NASA missions. In the challenges, students read about a NASA mission and then select the rocket that can carry the payload and travel the distance required to complete the mission.
Click Here to Access Free App
Sponsored By:
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STEM Gems
Volunteer with eCYBERMISSION!
If you have background or interest in STEM, your skills are wanted as a volunteer for the 2014–2015 eCYBERMISSION STEM competition. Sponsored by the US Army and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) on behalf of the Army Education Outreach Program, eCYBERMISSION is a web-based competition for grades 6–9 challenging students to identify a problem in their community. As a volunteer Virtual Judge, you have the opportunity to build students’ interest and knowledge of STEM as well as be a part of a rewarding experience and enhance your professional portfolio. Register to become a judge by February 25, 2015.
Click Here for More Information About the Competition
Click Here for More Information About Volunteer Judging
Read Along with Astronauts
Have your students ever listened to a story being read at 17,000 miles per hour? All they need to do is visit the “Story Time from Space” website to watch videos of astronauts reading stories from the International Space Station. “ Story Time from Space” is a project sponsored by the Global Space Education Foundation, a nonprofit education organization that works with NASA. The first five books chosen to be read in orbit from the International Space Station were written by Dr. Jeffrey Bennett. These elementary grade-level books feature Dr. Bennett’s dog, Max, as he goes on learning adventures in space. The first book is titled Max Goes to the Space Station. As the space station orbits, the books are being read all over the world in English, German and Japanese. Although Dr. Bennett’s books are primarily for younger students, teachers can access lesson ideas and plans that relate to significant science applicable to all ages. In addition, rather than the traditional experiments that the astronauts perform with whatever they happen to have on the station, “Story Time from Space” is designing experiments for the astronauts that correspond to the stories being read; these experiments will also be accessible from the website. During April 2015, nine science experiments designed by the “Story Time from Space” team will be launched into space for the astronauts to perform and broadcast to the world from the International Space Station. Through the “Story Time from Space” program, students can read along with astronauts in space, participate in long-distance experiments and learn more about science, technology, engineering and math.
Click Here to Visit Website
Move Toward a New Model of Education
A free eight-week after-school program, SHINE for Girls, utilizes kinesthetic learning by combining math with dance. The unique curriculum, which focuses on building both mathematical facility and self-confidence in young girls, has been recognized for its work in equalizing the gender gap in STEM fields. The program is targeted to a middle school audience, an age at which studies have proved that girls lose interest in STEM.
Click Here to Visit Website
Break Through the Barriers
The national iUrban Teen program focuses on connecting male youth of color, aged 13 to 18, with STEM and arts, or STEAM, opportunities, but is inclusive of all youth considered nontraditional STEM learners. The purpose of iUrban Teen is to expose youth who might not otherwise get a chance to see STEM in action and give them more than a glimpse. The program’s events include speakers, summits, tech tours and hands-on activities through businesses, universities and other partners.
Click Here to Visit Website
Bridge the Gap Between Education and Business
A nonprofit organization called Genesys Works recruits high school students from groups underrepresented in the tech world, including low-income students, and then places them in paid internships with IT departments inside local companies. The organization’s hope is that exposure to both computers and corporate culture—with adult mentors providing guidance—will put these students on the path to a technology-related college career.
Click Here to Visit Website
Worth-the-Surf Websites
Investigate Cultures Around the Globe
During a Google Earth Walk, students engage in real-world problem solving as they work their way through a virtual tour on Google Earth. Each placemark offers an engaging, geotagged image as well as a compelling question, challenging students to apply what they’ve learned in the real world. Google Earth Walks challenge students to solve real-life problems literally around the globe. Students investigate the environments and cultures around the world through the eyes of the Google Earth lens. Check under the Math, Science and Social Studies tabs for a large selection of Earth Walks in these subject areas. Also, be sure to check out the Resources section, where you can download, at no charge, Google Earth Walk’s Navigation, Placemark, Balloon and HTML guides. You will also find information on how to create Google Earth Walks as well as Google Earth Video Tutorials. And, if you like, you can submit your Google Earth Walks for others to use.
Click Here to Access Google Earth Walks Website
Click Here to Access Free Resources
Click Here to Access Free Guides
See, Learn and Explore Almost Everything
In January 2015, DK publishers launched DKfindout!—a global education website for children, primarily aged 7–11, and their parents and teachers. This new website brings together DK’s bank of images and content across a huge breadth of subjects. It serves as a free learning and reference resource that includes animations, sounds, videos and thousands of photographs for use both in the classroom and at home. The content addresses key subject areas in the US curriculum, including math, history, English and science, and hundreds of quiz questions support every topic. The content will be constantly updated throughout 2015 and beyond, in line with changes to teaching practice. The site is easily accessible on all devices, including desktop, tablet and mobile, and serves every type of learner, from those who prefer to read information to visual learners. A Teacher area, in development throughout 2015, includes a tool for teachers to create lesson plans. DKfindout! also provides information and support for parents.
Click Here to Visit Website
Connect Plugged-In Students to Classic Literature
A recent trend in online storytelling may offer opportunities for teachers looking to help connect students to literature. The Literary YouTube series seeks to transform classic works into video blogs set in the modern day. One of the earliest such series is also one of the most popular: The Lizzie Benet Diaries, an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice co-created by Hank Green, brother of John Green, an author of young adult books. In this modernized version of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is a 24-year-old grad student with a video blog, and the Bennet sisters—reduced to three rather than the original five—are just as concerned about jobs and school as they are about marriage. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is the first YouTube series to win a Primetime Emmy, and the team behind it has rebranded as Pemberley Digital. Now Pemberley has teamed up with PBS Digital Media to create a 22-episode series called Frankenstein, MD, which teaches viewers about biology while following the exploits of Victoria Frankenstein, a medical student struggling to make a name for herself in a male-dominated field.
Click Here to Access Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Click Here to Access Frankenstein, MD
Plus: Pemberley Digital’s video series is not alone in this genre. Other series include Classic Alice, which tells the story of a college student who decides to live her life according to classic novels. The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy reimagines Peter Pan as a comic book artist in Neverland, Ohio. The newest addition to the field is The March Family Letters, an adaptation of Little Women. A defining feature of all of these series is the way they spill over into other forms of media. Characters interact with one another on Twitter, reblog fan posts on Tumblr and share fashion ideas on Pinterest. Classic Alice goes even further, with the characters creating podcasts and giving their phone numbers to the audience.
Click Here to Access Classic Alice
Click Here to Access The New Adventures of Peter and Wendy
Click Here to Access The March Family Letters
Walk the Deck of a Historic Warship
If they can’t make it to the USS Constitution, students might want to pay it a virtual visit instead. This historic warship is the latest addition to Google’s collection of panoramas, which presents 360-degree wraparound photos of museums and scenic locales from around the world. The photo panoramas of the USS Constitution, which are viewable online, include areas of the ship’s deck and interior that aren’t open to the public. Viewers can click on different parts of the image to change the camera’s location as though they were walking around the decks. They can also use the system’s controls to zoom in on the ship’s masts, cannons and equipment, which were photographed last fall.
Click Here to Visit Website
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